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VIP SERVICE, BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT
Life is full of times when you wish you were being treated like the basha that you know you are. The crowds, the noise, the jostling in long lines – it’s definitely not for you. Fortunately, there are a number of options that let you receive the VIP treatment and personalized service you deserve. Here are four worth considering.
BY LOUIS WASSER
Cinema comforts
How many times have you gone to a cinema to see the latest Hollywood flick only to endure two hours of noisy crowds, ringing mobiles and uncomfortable seating? Sometimes it makes you wish you’d waited for the DVD release.
No matter how jaded you’ve become, the “first class” theaters at Golden Stars Cinema should be able to tempt you back to the box office. Three cinema halls, with large screens, leather recliners and waiter service, offer exceptional comfort without the chatty crowds of the mall’s 18 other cinemas. Think of it as having a cinema screen in your living room – but with personal attendants to serve you snacks. And if you really get the munchies, you can have a burger or pizza delivered to your seat.
For a LE 75 ticket, you can sink into one of 36 comfortable recliners, put your feet up on a footrest and enjoy what is billed as the ultimate cinema experience. No need to brave long concession lines or rush out to buy a snack at the risk of missing that crucial scene. Just place your order before the show or during the intermission at the counter in the exclusive VIP lounge and uniformed staff will deliver the food to you in the theater. Tables next to the recliners mean you don’t have to cradle your food in your lap or put your drink on a sticky floor.
There are six showings a day, mostly foreign films. Call the box office for show times. Just be sure you distinguish between the three VIP cinema halls and the larger but less luxurious deluxe cinema halls on the same floor.
Golden Stars Cinema
Level 0, CityStars Mall (Phase 2)
Nasr City
Tel. 2480-2580/1
www.citystars.com.eg
Global concierge
You spend too much of your leisure time doing mundane tasks such as finding a tutor for your kids, organizing the annual office party or calling around to get tickets to the big event. Why bother when a Quintessentially representative can do it for you. The international personal concierge service that recently launched in Egypt can track down contacts and plan events, but arguably its biggest value is that it offers potential access to A-list events around the world. Want tickets to a sold-out football cup match, an invite to a designer’s soirée or a backstage pass for a rock concert? Quintessentially might just be your way in.
But to use the concierge’s services and take advantage of its global reach, you’ll need a membership. A General membership runs £750 (LE 8,000) per year, with a £150 (LE 1,620) activation fee. At this level, Quintessentially functions as a responsive service, with members calling in requests for anything from help finding a nanny to help booking a reservation at the most exclusive restaurant in New York.
Step up a notch to a Dedicated membership and you’ll receive proactive services – Quintessentially will attempt to predict the services you’ll likely need and contact you before you feel the need to contact them. Dedicated membership costs £2,500 (LE 27,000) a year, with a £250 (LE 2,700) activation fee. At this level, you have an account manager who creates a profile about you in order to serve you better. Whether it’s a reminder call about your upcoming anniversary – and help buying a gift when you realize you forgot – or access to tickets for an upcoming A-list event that your manager knows you can’t live without, Dedicated level members receive a more personalized level of service than General members.
While Dedicated membership makes you feel like you have a personal assistant, an Elite membership takes this to a whole different extreme. Limited Elite service is similar to the Dedicated membership, but instead of one account manager in a single city you have four, each in a different location. This costs £10,000 (LE 107,990) per year. For the pinnacle of service there is Bespoke Elite service, which puts Quintessentially’s global network at your disposal, with a personal account manager in each of the organization’s 44 offices worldwide. The service costs £24,000 (LE 259,180) per year and Quintessentially will go to extraordinary lengths to fulfill the requests of members at this level.
Quintessentially
1A Hod Al Gezira
Maadi 2528-6450
www.quintessentially.com
Cruising in style
Ah, the Nile. Timeless and tranquil, except on summer evenings when an armada of feluccas and motorboats – with flashing lights and pop tunes blaring from scratchy speakers – churn up the waters near Cairo. There’s a reason for the hordes. An evening cruise on the Nile is an unforgettable experience.
So why not do it in style? After all, even if you can’t afford your own private yacht, you can still feel like you can – for a few hours at least. The Nile Trocadero, a 22-meter yacht moored just south of the Cairo Sheraton in Giza, can take you and up to 26 of your guests on a luxurious cruise of the Nile amidst the glowing lights of Cairo.
The boat has two outdoor decks with seating, one at the bow and the other on the top deck. There is also an indoor area with plenty of seating located next to a kitchen and two bathrooms. Cruise upriver as far as Helwan or downstream to the north tip of Zamalek – just let the captain know where to take you and enjoy the trip.
For a quiet dinner cruise, bring along a precooked meal and reheat it in the onboard kitchen, which is stocked with serving dishes and cutlery. A crewmember will be there to help serve. For a more lively on-the-water party, hire a catering crew and bring the food and drink. There’s a bar and an area for an open buffet, but no cracking into the booze till the boat leaves port.
Charter prices vary according to the length of the booking, with an eight-hour cruise costing LE 2,000 and a single hour billed at LE 350. Expect prices to go up in June with the start of the high season.
Nile Trocadero
Moored at Kashefa Club
(700 meters south of Cairo Sheraton Hotel)
012 215-8657
Airport breeze
You’ve been flying the red eye from New York and the last thing you want upon arriving in Cairo is to have to fight your way through the long lines at immigration and wrestle the crowds at the baggage claim. You might have paid more to fly first class, but unless you happen to be a foreign dignitary or have your own Lear jet, you still have to slog through passport control alongside everyone else. Or so it would seem.
Cairo International Airport is a rare exception to this rule. Rather uniquely, the airport offers a number of VIP options, all under the umbrella of the airport’s Exclusive Service. For a fee, travelers can bypass the hassle, and even arrange to be dropped off at their plane by a private car.
As part of the airport’s Meet and Assist service, a uniformed representative will meet you at the gate when you arrive and assist you through immigration, then wait for your bags while you sit in the VIP lounge. For departing passengers, the representative will accompany you through check-in and get you to the VIP lounge. The service costs $50 for foreigners and LE 100 for Egyptians. Family discounts are available.
For travelers looking for an even higher level of comfort and convenience, the Exclusive Service offers a more comprehensive package. Rather than having a representative guide you through the regular airport procedures, they will handle your check-in and immigration procedures while you relax in a VIP lounge area. When it’s time to board your flight, a private car will take you directly from the Exclusive Service area to your plane. The service is available for arriving passengers, but must be pre-booked. The full package costs $100 for foreigners and LE 300 for Egyptians, with family discounts available.
You can also forgo the VIP package and choose to only hire the private car to take you directly to your plane from the terminal. Up to three people can book the car for $25 in the case of foreigners, or LE 150 for Egyptians.
Exclusive Service
Cairo International Airport
Terminal 1: 2265-6276
Terminal 2: 2265-2417
www.cairo-airport.com
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